Avatar: New Century's Dawning
by Atmos
Summary: Over 100 years later from the series's timeline. Avatar Aang had died about a decade and a half ago, and already tension is rising between the nations.
1. Twilight at the Earth King's Palace

_Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender series; I do not own any of the orginial canon characters mentioned in this story nor the world or concepts used in the series. I do not make any profit out of this story whatsoever. I am just merely a fan and a writer._

Setting: The setting takes place a little over a hundred years after the timeline of the series. It has been about 15 years since the death of Avatar Aang and the new avatar has yet to be known, let alone be sure if the avatar has even been born yet (at least the water tribes claim not to know). The Generation of Avatar Aang has led to many changes throughout the world. The most important being the recovery of the airbenders. Off the central west coast of the Earth Kingdom there is a population building a society of new ideologies, a society of mixed benders.

Meanwhile a radical group of Firebenders are attacking the against other Nations and amongst themselves in the name of Ozi and Azula. It started off as guerilla warfare, but recently their attacks have become more frequent and organized. Some regions of the Earth Kingdom are spreading rumors that the Fire Nation as a whole is attempting another war.  
But public is completely unaware of a greater threat growing in secret, waiting for the perfect time to reveal itself.

------

It was a night of a new moon. The scattered large clouds cut off any visual of the sparkling ceiling of stars, making the night pitch black, especially around the quiet surroundings of the central palace of Ba Sing Se. At one of the higher floors of the palace, an open window flapped in the breeze, tapping aloud as it closed and opened. No sooner was the window gripped shut from the inside.

"Lock must've slipped open," shrugged a palace guard, the one who had closed the window, hardly any light to expose much appearance. The guard tipped up the conical straw hat and took a glance outside. Couldn't see a thing outside. Though what it especially hard to see made it hard to see was the light from the distant hallway in the back, reflecting light on the window from the inside.

"What are you doing in this lounge, Hanara?" A voice asked from behind.

"Huh?" The guard turned around to see a tall body standing behind. The light from the hallway revealed 'her' face, "Oh, chief? Sorry, I came into the room when I heard this window tapping open. I was just closing it, sir."

The man, nodded as he turned around and started off the room, "Hanara, just stay sharp."

"Yes sir," she replied as she asked herself if that was all the chief ever said, _Stay sharp_. She gave a last scan on the room before following her chief's lead into the hallways. Stepping into corridors she exposed herself by the light radiating from the wall hanging lamps, walking her separate ways. Hanara wore the traditional garments, similar to the Dai Li, though it lacked the draping robes and included light armor, easily revealing her feminine curves. She was equipped with a katana and small knife, which she handled with expertise.

Harana Aou continued her regular duty, patrolling the hallways of the vast bastion of the Earth King. Harana never expected this job to be so humdrum. It irritated her to think of all the discrimination and sass talk she had to deal with just to be part of the Earth Kingdom's royal guard. She was the first woman to ever be part of the legion, taking advantage of Ba Sing Se's transition of breaking tradition and hailing introduced liberal notions. It wasn't easy getting accepted. What made it even harder for her was the fact that she wasn't even an bender. The experience was much more of a communal challenge than a physical, people attempting to pile up a mental block of dissuasion on her. Not even her family supported her. But she fought it through. Just about a week ago she had made it. She earned her title in the league fair and square, and it was an achievement she felt was well-deserved. She loved the city of Ba Sing Se, and felt she had every right to defend it. But she didn't expect it to be boring most of the times. The halls seemed to create a endless maze among the palace with so many lounges, libraries, vacant bedrooms…you name it, it's there…most likely empty.

------

About an hour has passed yet with the complete ennui and the long empty corridors, Hanara's mind fell victim to the illusion that it had been forever. She had made it to the first floor, still trekking the routine path of her patrol. The hallways of the first floor were much taller. As she turned into through a three-way intersection to another indistinguishable hallway she paused a minute. Standing right in the middle of the junction she peered down every direction.

_Hmm…I could've sworn…Oh, I hope I didn't get lost again._ Hanara had did her best to memorize the map of the palace as best as possible, but had gotten lost twice, which is nothing shameful. One wouldn't be human if one didn't get lost in this place…unless they had a map at hand. In fact, she had just a tiny glimmer of hope that she was lost; being lost would at least have her mind attentive on something.

_Ah, I am at the right spot…shucks_. She paced forward to the direction she was originally was heading and then stopped at a particular door. This was indeed particular for it was much larger than any other in the palace complex. It was the door to the Royal Archives, storing information absolutely top secret. Hanara looked both ways of the hall, placing her index finger at the bottom of her lips while deep in thought. "That's funny. There should be someone standing guard at this door." Hanara reached for the knob (one of the few doors with hinges and knobs), and tried to open the door. "It's locked?" Hanara was puzzled, rattling the knob curiously. Of the many arbitrary traditions in the palace, one that still stuck out was to never lock doors. Rooms that needed security would merely be guarded. Locks would only be used during emergency scenarios, and as far as Hanara was concerned there ceased to be any form of excitement on this tedious night.

Hanara gave a hard yet rhythmic knock on he door, loud enough for it to be heard in he large room on the other side, the possibility that a royal scholar or two had insomnia had gain permission for be a hermit in for the late hours. But there was no answer. After giving another knock Hanara stepped back from the door. She really didn't worry, concluding to herself that one of the guards had decided to be lazy and take a break, locking the door for insurance. _It's peculiar nonetheless. Should go tell the chief of it. _And with the thought she paced on in she of her superior. _Got nothing better else to do._

_------_

The chamber of the royal archives descended below the first floor. The wide room was completely dark albeit the several candles let a particular corner. Within the radius of the light there was shelf after shelf on the wall full of books and scrolls. All was quiet until a soft steps tapped onto the floor. Slowly a shadow emerged from the darkness into the candlelight.

_That was close_, thought the shadow. The shadow was hesitant to continue when the knocking from outside the room had suddenly stopped. _Why didn't they attempt to brake in right away. Ah, they must have gone to fetch a key. Better hurry this up_. The shadow, who had the stature of a man, took off a small backpack which was a already open, some scrolls exposed from the pockets. The shadow took hold of a candle as it skimmed the light through and over the shelves. Finally honing in on a scroll ledge, the shadow picked out a clump of scrolls. Putting the candle down he opened them up and examines the writings.

_This is it! _Sparing no time to celebrate, the shadow placed the scrolls in his backpack and took the scrolls he already possessed and replaced them with the one he stole, placing them in there neat arrangement as if nothing was touched. Gathering his pack he took a candle and started out for the chamber exit. Halfway through he paused for moment. He looked down at the body of sentry who was originally guarding the archive's entrance. Despite the guard's enormous size, the small sleep dart still had instant effect on the big oaf. That there's still a chance the sedative could ware off sooner. The shadow had already bind his legs and arms. There was no point in killing him. The big guard would wake up and be just as useful with the case as much as if he were dead. Beside, killing wasn't anything he preferred, especially with the use of sedatives and other stealth tricks. Such a method wouldn't demonstrate the power he really had. Such covertness wasn't his style, but it's what he's being paid to do.

Getting ready to leave he thought through of the inevitable footsteps he'd leave. Though he left fake scrolls in place, the officials would swamp the room, checking everything, since it would be odd to have 'nothing disturbed.' The shadow walked through an aisle of bookshelves, scanning swiftly until a title on the shelf caught his eye. Grabbing the scroll on the shelf he put the candle down looking through. _Great! This may actually come in handy_. And the shadow stuffed it in his sack. With this scroll apparently missing, it would increase the chance of the officials focusing on this missing piece than figure out what the real target actually was.

Leaving the candle behind, the shadow blended back into the darkness. The sound of his rapid steps was a giveaway indicator of him climbing up stairs. _Slow down_, he told himself, _Take it easy, bud_. It was a bit difficult to be absolutely calm in the situation. He did just break into the palace of the Earth King. And what even got him more excited was the fact that everything had went so smoothly…not at all what the shadow expected.

The shadow knew he made it to the top as he reached the lighted horizontal slight under the door. He stopped a few steps away, looking down through the light to see if he any shadows walking by. Nothing. He stepped closer, putting his ear on the door. No sound. The shadow still wasn't positive if there was someone simply standing by the door, temporarily in place for the guard he hushed. There was only one way to find out. The shadow, quietly unlocked the dead bolt, and then lightly knocked. In such a case, it was better if he surprise-attacked the guards out there instead of him walking out with the guards surprising him. He knocked again only to get no answer. _Well…here we go…again. _He thought with a sigh.

He opened the door calmly, the hinges not creaking one bit, while looking side to side of the hallway. _Coast is clear_. The shadow stepped out into the corridor still in all black. Only his eyes and between were exposed from his stealth suit, his eye color not easily noticeable in the rich candlelight. Creeping to the end of the hallway as fast and as quietly as he could, the ninja stopped at the end of a junction. Okay, so if I took this turn, then came from the right, right, left, right…it's actually going to be left, left, right, then…The ninja continued sneaking on his way, recalling every turn he took. He had memorized a map he had before he arrived. Though right now he was focusing on getting to a higher floor. It would be safe from any direct earthbending attack, plus barging through the front gates wouldn't sound reasonable on his part. The best thing to do was to sneak out the same window he came in.

He was lucky to make it through the corridors before. But now he was an eyesore dress all in black. But he was confident that he would be able to find the stairs before…

The ninja suddenly halted himself, as he came across an obstacle. A 12 foot wall had sprouted straight from the ground in front of him. _Ah…damnit! Son of a-_

"Pao over here! We have an intruder!" A voice called out from behind him. The voice then ordered, "Alright mister, put your hands in the air, now!"

The ninja did so, still staring at the newly emerged wall, _This is just…great._


	2. Encounter of the Nightbender

The ninja slowly turned around to face the guards, "Hey don't move!" The guard had commanded, looking at the ninja in his stiff earthbending stance standing about 20 feet apart from each other. The ninja gave a light flinch at the guard's words to confirm cooperation. A second later another guard emerged from the junction on the first guard's left. The second guard, who was called Pao, unsheathed his katana at sight of the ninja, standing beside the earthbender. The temptation of battle chilled through the ninja's spine. But the ninja kept the reminder nailed to his mind; he was being paid to be sneaky…and for good reason. _So sneaky it is…_

Before the earthbender could give any orders the ninja suddenly waved his hands in desperation and pleaded, "Oh please don't kill me! I beg of you! I just paid to do this and really need the money. I have a wife and kids! I'll comply! Just don't kill me!"

"Shut up!" The earthbender ordered irately.

_Ooo…what a temper there_, the ninja thought.

The second guard took one hand to reach in a small pouch to retrieve a bit of binding rope. But before he grabbed it out completely the earthbender, without losing eye contact on the ninja, ordered, "Pao! Go set off the signal."

Pao looked at the earthbender, "The signal?"

The ninja augmented Pao's question, "What signal? There's no need to put out any sig-"

"Silence, you!" The earthbender retorted fiercely, "Pao, there's most likely other intruders, set off the signal to warn the others!"

Pao again hesitated, "But I can't just leave here alone."

The ninja then declared rather nonchalantly, "Yeah, there's no need for that. There are no others, I'm the only-"

The earthbender roared, "I said! Shut! Up!" He took his gape off the ninja and shifted his piercing gaze at his comrade, "Pao! I can deal with this guy myself! Go! Now!"

_Now's my chance! _Before the earthbending guard returned his sight on the intruder, the ninja swiftly slid his left foot backwards across the floor. At that moment all the earthbender could do was gasp as his feet swept forward off the ground, causing him to fall backwards. With incredible speed the ninja propelled his left leg forward, initiating a back flip. The instant he performed the stunt, the falling earthbender was then launched straight up in the air before even hitting the ground. The airborne guard collided into the ceiling 20ft in the air, before falling back down, crash-landing onto the floor. Pao stood almost paralyzed at the sight of what just happened, mainly because he couldn't register at all what had just happened. But before he could recollect his senses Pao felt a strong force pushing his body from behind him. He realized his body was being thrust forward across the ground. He cried out as his body was flying straight toward the ninja. But suddenly, Pao stopped; his momentum came to a halt as his stomach had rammed straight into the ninja's fist. The ninja stepped back from Pao as the young guard gasped and choked, putting his arms to his stomach before falling to the ground.

"Quick and…painful. Be happy I'm being nice," the ninja murmured down at the convulsing body. He then scanned toward the body of the earthbender completely unconscious on the ground. _Better move fast, that loud mouth of his should've been signal enough._ The ninja pulled that shirt, which was tucked, out from his belt and opened it, holding the ends of his shirt out like an attached cape, exposing his bare dark vest. Looking up at the earthbended wall he crouched his knees. A upward draft caught from under his open shirt as he then jumped high over the wall, which was plenty low enough from the ceiling to jump over. Making a prompt yet soft landing on the other side the black bandit scurried off, retracing his steps out of the palace.

------

"What do you mean there was no one at post of the Archive entrance?!" The chief erupted at Hanara.

"Sir, I…I mean what I said." Hanara replied but thinking, _You just repeated what I said as a question!_

"Hanara, rhetorical question!…I swear if that big lug, Vlon, is off slacking, I'll make see to it he is dismissed from the legion, personally."

Hanara rolled her eyes under her conical hat as she continued, "Uh, sir, what actually had me most concern was that the door was locked and I just wanted to know if there is anyone was granted permission of private use and-"

"Locked? It shouldn't be locked! I would be the first to know if someone was granted permission to use any of the classified rooms. Are you sure it was locked? I'm the only one up this time of night with the key. That would mean that there's someone in the room."

_So there 'was' someone in the room!_ Hanara ruminated to herself, then responded, "Sir, I assure you, I couldn't open the door, which I did out of intention in case Vlon, was inside…should I- sir?"

"There's something dubious going on, not to mention a sudden vibration I felt just a moment ago. Come down with me. We're getting to the bottom of this. And once I-" The chief paused as the low booming chime echoed through the halls.

_That's the signal_, Hanara awed in thought, _that means there's…_

"We've had a break-in!" The chief swung his gaze at Hanara, "You cover back on the east halls on this floor," and with that said he took off down the hall, while Hanara sped off the other direction, looking for the other local guards and group up with. Hanara knew the procedure for such a situation, but she never really thought there would ever be a break in in the palace. _Is this seriously happening? Has someone really broken into the Earth King's palace. Wait, could this have to do with the missing guard, Vlon, at the archives entrance?_ Right before reaching the nearest junction, a black mass had darted through the intersection into the right. _What the?! What was that?!_ She cogitated as she turned right at the junction to follow it. Up ahead she saw the figure of a man, with a small backpack running frantically, defeating not one the fellow guards.

Katana at hand she called out, "Hey you, stop right there," but to no avail. The man continued on. Hanara had to comment on the suspects speed because she was a quick one herself, barely staying on his tail, but what surprised her even more was that her target seemed to no where he was going in this confounded maze of a palace. She continued to ordering aloud "Stop! Intruder!" in hopes that someone nearby would hear her and join in, but it seemed couldn't count on it. Finally the intruder turned into a room where Hanara quickly followed. She halted herself in the room as the sound of shattering glass cracked through the air. "No, he didn't!" she was hesitant to believe that the man had jumped out the window…almost 40-50 feet high. Running to the window she peered her head out to look down to the ground. She could barely see in the darkness of the night but she was able to notice the slightly dingy color of the man's backpack from the ground below, and based on the movement of the pack, it didn't seem the fall deterred the man one bit, let alone kill him!

_No way! _Hanara gave no scruple as she ran out of the room, her feet doing the thinking for her. She was still trying to register everything that had just happened; it was all happening way too fast.

------

Heading down the stairs onto the first floor Hanara flitted straight to a side entry of the palace. Someone stood watch near the door but it wasn't one of the palace guards; he was wearing a dark robe. It was a Dai Li agent. The agent called out, recognizing her, "Hanara? What are you doing, you should be keeping an eye out for trespasser." Noticing his distinguishable slender goatee, she knew it had to be Seyro, a novice agent but also a dear friend of Hanara's.

She replied sternly "Seyro! Seyro?! Of all people to run into-" She didn't know whether to be relieved or to confused herself even more, by question herself more questions. "Anyway, the intruder, isn't in the building! I chased into a room, and he jumped out the window!"

"A window? But the lowest window is up on the fourth floor?!"

"I know! I saw him jump it. And he survived the fall. He's in the front palace square as we speak. You have to come with me!" Without a word the two had headed out the door out in east corner of the wide palace square.

The palace was surrounded by a outer wall about 30 feet high with several hung torches providing small beacons of light. There only one entrance to the southwest. "I don't see any of the other agents here, they must have spotted and chased him down," Seyro suggested to Hanara.

"Other agents?"

"Yeah once we hear the signal, The Dai Li quickly managed to surround the palace walls, inside and out, and…do you hear that?"

As the two dashed around the place toward the southwestern gate, they quicken their pace as they heard assortment of bellows up ahead. Hanara wanted to slap herself in the face, _Come on Hana. Keep it together. You have to stay sharp at all costs…Stay sharp? Oh brother. The chief's words really 'did' sink in. Jeez…oh my word! What happened?!_

Hanara and Seyro stopped as they laid their eyes on a baffling sight. A group of about 15 Dai Li agents were either on their knees or on the ground, crying out in pain. Most of them had their ears clasped while few were on the ground gagging and vomiting. Only one agent stood at the center trying to assist one of his fallen comrades. Seyro ran to the standing agent, "What happened here?!" he demanded to know. The other agent looked at Seyro, "I got here just a moment before you did. I'm not sure what happened all of them. They seemed to have had the intruder surrounded but some of them were yelling out something about a hearing a piercing sound. The second I caught sight of the spot," The agent pointed to the gate, "I saw the outline of a man. I saw as he approached the door and then chopped into pieces with no weapon. It was as if he hacked through it with the air."

"The air?!" Hanara was standing beside Seyro listening in, "Are you telling me this guy's an airbender?"

He shook his head, "I haven't a clue, but whoever he is, he managed to hindered over dozen men in a few seconds. Hey! Where you going?!" The agent yelled out to Seyro who sprinted to the gate.

Hanara also called out, "Seyro wait up?!" she was about to follow him when she heard.

"Wait!" The agent tried sit up a comrade down, "Hold up, you." he directed to Hanara.

Hanara retorted, "I can't leave Seyro go alone."

"I know! That's why I'll go with you. We can't split up individually. If the enemy could take down a whole team of agents, we're wasting our time if we try to go at him alone. But once we pass the gate we need to rally more reinforcements along the way."

"We don't have time for that!"

The agent raised his voice, "We're not dealing with anyone run-of-the-mill trespasser. He just snuck in and out of the Earth King's palace. This guy 'has' to be the nightbender!"

"The nightbender?" Hanara whispered under her breath.

"Come!" The agent ordered her as he lead the way, "Don't worry about these men. None seemed to suffered anything lethal. And they'll be attended to shortly."

Following the agent, she glanced back to the men slowly still recovering from whatever strike had hit them. She gulped in her mind, thinking of what they were up against. She had heard rumors about the nightbender, but she's heard rumors about many exaggerated crooks and heroes. Supposedly within the past few months there had been man missing articles files of all kinds missing from towns and cities throughout the continent. Of those many cases there were only few that included a eyewitness of a unknown burglar.

_Seyro you idiot, you better watch yourself._

------

About 20 minutes had passed and there was still no sign of the intruder…or Seyro. Six other Dai Li agents had joined Hanara and the agent she accompanied, who happened to be a Dai Li commanding officer. The group had searched thoroughly through the streets of upper-class residency. If the ninja had managed to escape to outside this ring, the odds would be drastically against them in finding him. But it would be highly unlikely. Every Dai Li in the great city should have already surrounded this sector, top to bottom, from the walled gates to the tops of the walls themselves.

As the group moved through one of the main streets, another Dai Li agent emerged from a darkness of a side alley and halted the group. He was bit out of breath but managed to share the news. Pointing at the direction he came he informed, "Everyone, the thief has just been caught. Two men are group holding him down, but just barely! It's just two blocks south from here We need to hurry!"

Without a moment to waste, the commanding officer gestured to the group to head that direction to follow his lead, this time, jumping on the stack of barrels and crates on the side of houses to dash through the roof tops. Hopping roof to roof the officers finally descended to street ahead, with Hanara and the other agents following behind. Barely in view in range of the street's torchlight Hanara and the group witnessed two Dai Li pinning down the ninja on the ground, twisting his arms behind his back and binding them with there stone gloves. The ninja mumbled and groaned in pain groggily as the group circled the scene.

"Excellent work, you two!" The commanding officer approached the two agents. Looking up one replied, "This guy wasn't so tough. It was the other colleague, who did all the work. When we both arrived he had already single-handedly took this guy down. When we took over he went off to find any officers.

"Well he found me. But wait, single-handedly?! My my! Where are you lad?" The officer looked around to the group to pick out the one who informed the group. "Which one of you was it? Wait, we're missing one?" There were only six other agents as before…the first six.

The two agents holding down the ninja struggled as one of them said, "This guy's resisting the binding. How the? Is he and earthbender?"

"Sir!" Hanara spoke out as she walked up to the ninja, "Something's not right. You two?" she asked the two arresting the ninja, "Where's his backpack? He had a backpack."

"Backpack?!" One of them responded, "He didn't have any backpack when we arrived?"

The commanding officer walked up to the ninja and knelt down by his face, "You know you're right. I did see him carrying a bag. Either he must've hid the bag, relayed it to another spy or…" Quickly the commanding officer grasped the ninja's and pulled it off. Revealing a slender goatee, with a thick cloth wrapped over his mouth, only half conscious.

"Damn it!" The Dai Li officer stood up and looked around furiously, "He slipped passed right under our noses!"

Hanara bent down aside the captive, telling the two agents to back off, "It's not him! He's not the trespasser." Hanara took the rag off her friend's mouth, "Seyro, are you okay, what happened?!"


	3. Lulling in a Lab

The sky of the cool night slowly cleared up, revealing the serene starry twilight. Loping through the alleyways of the dense urban sprawl of the middleclass ring a solo Dai Li agent moved through the darkness with incredible speed, avoiding the open, empty avenues dimly lit by the streetlamps. It wasn't for a while until the agent finally decided to stop at a tight pathway between two small shops. Leaning his back onto the side of a wall, he stood motionless, as if he wasn't breathing. The only distinct feature of the agent was his bulging belly. Though the agent appeared to be a bit overweight for his own good, he opened the his Dai Li robe to reveal a backpack strapped over his abdominal. Adjusting the straps on his shoulder he closed his robe and retightening his belt, before heading off again.

At last the agent arrived at his destination. Off the main street there was dead end room leaving to several small homes. The agent walked up to the entrance of one. The house had a fairly quaint and simple. All its windows were closed tight; the unusually wide chimney extending from the center of the roof was the only aperture leaking out the indoor light, reflecting off the smoke streaming up from it. _Figures, he'd be up_. The man thought as he approached the door. He gave a firm knock to the side of the door, then returning his hands into his sleeves, giving out enough patience to wait before needing to knock again.

The sliding door cracked open, "Who's there?" A man's voice called out from inside. The voice bared no steak of fatigue, indicating that he hadn't just awoken.

"I thought you'd be up and about this time of hour, you night owl. " The Dai Li imposter replied.

"What?" The man's voice became curious as he opened the slid open the door all the way. The resident, wearing small circular glasses, eyed the man with surprised looked, restraining any intense expression. "What are you doing, here?!" Giving a loud whisper, "And this early. And why are you…" The resident then paused and stepped back as if a sudden thought had struck him. The agent charlatan looked up at the man to make eye contact. "Jeez Roe, is that the kind of respect you address a Dai Li?"

Ignoring what he said, the resident gestured the visitor to enter and hissed, "Just get in."

Entering the home, the agent cleared his throat, exhaling abruptly from his nose upon catching a whiff of a stagnant bitter odor. At the center of the home was a fairly large cauldron filled with boiling water, over a roasting fire. Standing off the side of the foundation of the central hearth was a large table, with an assortment of glass tubes, pipes and beakers of all shapes and sizes. Some were filled with many different liquids of various colors, luster, and transparency, all arranged and interconnected through a complex system of glass veins.

Looking around the agent dispassionately asked with a light cough, "So uh…what are ya cooking?"

The resident closed the door, "Eason. Why are you here and in a Dai Li uniform?" The resident wanted to get to the point. The agent turned to face the man, his head tilted down with the conical hat still extending over his face. Standing no taller than the agent, the middle-aged man wore the usual plain, upper middleclass garments with the various shades of green, which was obscure to his tanned complexion. His long dark hair was tied back into a ponytail. His most notable feature was his narrow, pointed beard, but in this case what stood out more was his expression of disapproval in his deep blue eyes upon encountering the imitation agent. "I seriously hope you haven't gotten into any unnecessary tribulation. From what I know you should be busy with that arduous assignment of yours. Wait don't tell me, Eason." The man folded one arm while stroking his beard, "You plan to use the disguise to get into the palace, and are in need of my of a few items from my collection.

"Actually Roe," the imposter began to correct, taking off the robe, "I already used this disguise to get 'out of' the palace. And no those sleeping darts of yours were enough." Exposing the bag strapped over his stomach, he took it off and tossed it on the floor in front of him, several scrolls sticking out upon impact.

Still stroking his beard, Roe looked down upon the bag of scrolls, His eyes widened behind his glasses as his arms slowly dropped, "You…you already obtained the scrolls?" He then looked up to Eason and paused a moment before snipping with quick anger, "You better have a swell of a reason why the blazes you're not out of this city and instead endangering not only yourself but my cover as well?!"

Crossing his arms, the Eason cleared his throat before getting used to the tart smell in the air, "Well it wasn't a surprise that I didn't leave the palace unseen so I had to put up a bit of a show. Luckily I managed to pull off a decoy and lost the police force through the sewers, but the main sewer lines are gated under each dividing wall. And all the agents are covering the wall to the upper ring so it'd be suspicious being seen as a lone agent. Anyhow, to make the story short, I'm here because I know you're connections are more reliable. It'd be safer if you escort me the city, since you actually have such friendly reputation in the city."

"Uh, wait-what? Did I hear correctly? Did the infamous 'Firestorm' just affirm a concern for safety?"

Eason removed his hat and held it to his side. His brown hair was thick, but it was short enough that it didn't retain any hat-head. Keeping his facial hair shaved, he looks a few years younger than his actual age. His gray eyes grinned at Roe, somewhat humored.

Adjusting his glasses, Roe continued, "Oh. My mistake. Tonight your name would be the all mysterious 'nightbender.' At least that'll be the first alias of yours inscribed in the wanted list throughout Be Sing Se."

Ignoring Roe's further attempt of cajoling, Eason gave the short explanation, "Doing this I'll be able to pass this down to the people that actually give a damn about these scrolls as quick as possible and I can be on my way back into the frontlines."

Roe sighed as he picked up the backpack from the floor, "Ah, fighting throughout the heat of battle in hopes of encountering that true warrior hat would actually be able to put a scratch on you. You sure have a bizarre power-fetish. Seems your true alias will always be Firestorm. It's a shame that name will wear out and lose meaning sooner or later." Roe placed the bag on the table, "It's only a matter of time every corner of the Earth Kingdom realize the Fire Nation really isn't the enemy. And if Jagmohan promptly makes use of what you have here, than all the nations will have no clue who's hitting them. By the way," Roe grabbed a scroll from the bag, opening it, "So this really is the information of such a procedure. I myself would of thought the whole idea nonsense if I didn't see the historical documentation myself at the university about the Dai Li conspiracy that took place 70, 80 years ago."

"That goes to show you think to much," Eason replied, shifted his visual attention away from Roe.

"Touché, but that's one attribute of mine that I'm well aware and well proud of. It's gotten me this far." Roe slipped his glance from the scroll, "Eh, psychology isn't my field anyway. Let Jagmohan's so-claimed telepaths and hypnotists handle this shenanigan. And yes Eason, you can have some of my saki." He finished as he saw Eason with a cup at hand, pulling out a bottle off a self with various beverages.

Pouring the saki into the cup Eason added, "And if you look at that other scroll you're holding, I also found another tidbit that Jagmohan had had his mind on."

Looking to the other scroll at hand, Roe opened it. His eyes squinted as he drew his face closer to the scroll. "This…this is the map to…but this place hasn't been seen for over a hundred years. Don't get me wrong, if this place does exist, it'd be a dream come true. But let's be realistic Eason, this is only going to add on to Jagmohan's side quest goose chasing and other delays."

Eason raised his filled cup of saki to his eye level, "That right there, is only going to add on to my pay check." And Eason then chugged the cup.

Roe rolled his eyes, thinking, iIf it's not for power, it's for the money/i but said, "I forgot, you don't have the bit of interest in Jagmohan's cause."

Before taking another gulp on his second cup Eason squinted his eyes at Roe, almost taking offense. "I admire the guy for having the nerve to challenge the world. Yeah, what most of what he's doing now is a bit sneaky and deceitful, but he feels it's the most 'humane' way to reach his goal and I'll respect that." Eason then tossed his free hand to direct attention to the whole room, "And I suppose you have expectations beyond confining yourself in closed rooms, mixing different juices in fancy glass bottles and talking big words."

Roe slipped the scrolls back into the bag as he responded, "Yes, I do, as a matter of fact, I take pride in my studies as chemist and as member of the scientific community. The day the conflict ceases to exist throughout civilization is the day we as a whole can put full effort into the vast quest for knowledge. That is the day, the era, I look forward too."

"Eh, how fun. Hopefully I'll be dead by then…" Eason mumbled under his sip of saki.

Roe went back on the subject, "Well the sooner you get pass this to Jagmohen's middlemen, the sooner we'll we won't have to handle all this. I'll thank you later for getting me into this." Roe narrowed his eyes at Eason.

"You remember," Eason extended his index finger with cup at hand, "my cover is confirmed as a guest in the city…your guest. So if I was caught, they would have stormed you down anyway. Any who, it's settled. You'll hook me up with your connections?"

"Sigh, very welll. Well I'd take you out of the city personally. But as you see, I'm busy here. But I have several interns who have to supervise a shipment of chemicals out of the city. You'll accompany them and you'll be able to hide these goods in one of the stone containers. Officials can't open them if they're label with various safety precautions. My interns aren't involved, but the ones receiving the delivery will be people you'll be familiar with."

"Sounds good to me. So what are you doing now. You mixing up some new poisons or sedatives for Jagmohan or me to use."

"Heavens no. I don't conduct any actual experiments for Jagmohan here in the city. That's what my funded international 'field' studies are for. I also order out the ingredients I use, including the batch you'll be exporting with tomorrow. These here," Roe referred to his lab setup, "are samples of experiments conducted by my students here at the university. I'm following a procedure to test if their synthetic solutions exhibit with the precise results. Speaking of which, I believe there's a sample ready for examination." Roe paced to the edge of the table where the end of the circuits of glass tubes dripped various liquids into different flasks. Aside the cone shaped flasks was an empty beaker. As the flasks were each about filled to the top, Rose aimed his fingers at the glassware. Then with a series of waves and motions of his fingers and wrists, the solutions from the flasks streamed up into the air. Three different liquid colors flowed through the air all pouring and mixing into the beaker. The waterbender spun his finger over the beaker as the mixed solution swirled in the beaker slowly becoming clear. "Wow. This may be the first student to completely purify their given substances."

"Ah…yeah nice, I'll take your word for it. It's nice to see you put commitment into your cover job." Eason took another mouthful of saki.

Roe responded while keeping his eye contact on his experiment, "This is not a cover job, merely a second. And all the data and information I obtain as a professor is utilized and applied to my work with Jagmohan and vice-versa. My affiliations with Jagmohan are merely top secret. Sigh, seems I'm going to be up the for the rest of the night with this. It's obvious you will be residing here for the night. My bed is vacant" Roe placed the solution down as he walked to the other end of the long table while bending a stream of boiling water from the central cauldron, guiding it into a mini steel funnel, which would be fed into the whole glass system. Roe returned to his work.

"Well thank you Roe, don't mind if I do." Eason had already left the bottle and cup of saki on the floor. Eason stood over Roe's bed with lazy eyes most likely because of his tiredness, and the frequent swigs of saki. He dropped himself over the bed But before hitting the, a firm breeze puffed upward, breaking his fall, gently landing onto the covers.


	4. The Meeting

Down the large central hall of the first floor two parallel lines made up of 20 palace guards marched toward enormous double doors, their synchronized footsteps echoing about. Upon arriving at the end of the hallway two guards from the beginning of each line pushed open the doors, leading into the Earth King's throne room.

The column of sentinels continued onward into the much wider, more decorative throne room. The center carpet from the hallway extended across the room outlined by a series of large ornamented pillars which reached all the way the other end where Earth King Huang-Tu himself was seated. He wore the tradition garments: the green-yellow pants, shirt with the dark green cape, his tall Manchu hat with the sign of the Earth Kingdom, and his long necklace of priceless pearls. On the left of the Earth King sat his beloved wife, the Earth Queen. Her shimmering jewelry and multicolored dress stood out beautifully within the plain green surroundings.

On the right of the Earth ring stood the royal anchor; the man's voice was so powerful, it's rumored that the man can earthbend by simply speaking. Standing in solid stance were eight guards on each side of the royal couple. The arriving group of guards continued marching forward until the leaders reached the edge of the small stairs which rose up to the thrones. When the two lines halted the guards then simultaneously turned 90 degrees to face toward the middle. Among these guards was Hanara, sixth of the row left of the Earth King's throne. Once the guards were in place, the royal anchor took in a deep breath and, "The Secretariat Alpha - General Juo!"

The introduction rumbled through the hall loud and clear. Entering the throne room was a large man in uniform. General Juo had a very long silver moustache, and a face as powerful as his position. The Secretariat Alpha is the leader of the Counsel of Five. The Counsel of Five consisted of three military generals, including Juo, the head of Ba Sing Se Public Safety and Law Enforcement, and the Head of Special Forces and Secret Service. A wise old man who served the Earth Kingdom military all his life. He had even fought in the last years of the great war against the Fire nation under Oazi's rule. He had knowledge and experience way beyond his many years. Once the General reached proximity of the King and Queen at the base of the stairs he gave a bow. That was the anchor's cue, "The Secretariat Beta - Minister Ki Nai!"

Walking to the front of the room, was middle-aged woman, in her forties. A fan at hand, her dress wasn't anything extravagant; she looked more corporate administrator than of nobility, which was fairly accurate. The Queen of Economy, the Mistress of Marketing, Minister Ki Nai was business and financial genius. She held the title of Head of Finance and Urban Development. She supervised all forms of business and trade as well as civil engineering projects. In her field, she's not only a mastermind but a warrior. Her bark is just as bad as her bite. With her vicious persona, she's force to be reckoned with. Most don't dare oppose her and when someone does attempt to antagonize her proposals, they are left defeated (unless it's the Earth King). But it's nothing to complain about; Ki Nai has kept the city's economy flourishing more than ever. Hanara was probably one of the very few to understand that it was most likely Ki Nai's strong assertion that got her to be the first woman secretariat. Pacing passed the guards, Ki Nai did not seem happy about being here, then again, she never seemed happy. When she arrived at the King's presence standing to the left of Juo, she bowed, fairly noticeable it was force of habit more than of courtesy.

The anchor called out again, "The Secretariat Gamma - Doctor Yeng Fo!" A thin man about in his fifties strolled into the throne room. Doctor Yeng Fo wore large bifocals and was completely bald. His arms crossed under the wide sleeves of his robes. Yeng Fo was the head of health and education in Ba Sing Se. The man with the heart of gold, for the past twenty years his influence and leadership has been responsible for establishing localized hospitals and an efficient public school system that spans throughout every sector in the city. Currently his most attentive issues are promoting more recreational areas and limiting the growth of industrial development (the most difficult part for him is coordinating the blueprints and schemes with Ki Nai). His expression was pleasant and once he stood on the right of General Juo he a humble greeting to King and Queen, "Your Majesty, I am most pleased to know your safe and sound after such a startling event."

The Earth King nodded his head with a smile. He would have continued but the anchor had already began the meeting. As the anchor stomped his foot heavily onto the floor, three stone podiums emerged from the ground each positioned in front of the three secretariats. These are the three sub powers of Ba Sing Se. By law, no matter what the subject is, whenever an emergency meeting is taken place by the Earth King, all three secretariats must be present. General Juo was going to properly start the meeting Ki Nai rudely insisted, "General Juo, whatever useful information you have to deal with this matter, I ask you please get to the point." She waved her fan at her face spastically.

General Juo gave Ki Nai a brief glare, "I assure you I will minister," he then faced the King, "Your majesty, I know you have been informed of the incident that took place last night."

The King nodded, "Yes, and I am very concerned that such an incident has managed to go about so successfully, for the intruder that is. Weren't the guards patrolling the palace as efficiently."

The General responded, "I assume you your majesty, the royal guards were not idling on their eminent duty."

Minister Ki Nai butted in, "It was claimed that one man had managed to successfully infiltrate the 'guarded' palace, then successfully infiltrate the guarded archives. And then! This man successfully escaped. What do you have to say to that, General?" But before she even let him reply she continued, "Oh and by the way, I'll give this guards the benefit of the doubt as I personally believe it was more than one man."

"Minister Ki Nai. Please," The Earth King enunciated clearly. General Juo was then addressed, but this time by the Earth Queen. "General Juo, I would have to affirm what that disturbs me most of the situation is that this robbery was conducted by a single man. Is this true?"

The General looked straight at the Queen, "Your highness, based on the reports gathered, it is believed this was a single man, but this was no common thief. It's suspected it to be the Nightbender, but more accurately known, the man was in fact an airbender."

The Queen put her hand over her mouth as she gasped while the Earth asked, "An airbender you say? But that would make this the second criminal airbender in the Earth Kingdom."

"That would be correct your majesty, but based on the collected data we have of the Firestorm and the Nightbender, the Council of Five, myself included, believe the two to be one person."

"Ha!" Minister Ki Nai snapped her fan closed peering at Juo, "You don't think your giving this criminal a little too much credit?"

Doctor Yeng Fo cleared his throat aloud as he joined in the discussion, "As a matter of fact it doesn't sound too farfetched. A single airbender can travel great distances and accomplish many feats in short amount of time. So it's possible for this man to have several identities. Even if it isn't one person, the Firestorm and Nightbender have proven to possess a high level of skill."

Ki Nai flashed opened her fan and started fluttering it, "Well doctor, I'll take your word for it."

The Earth King spoke out, "So then, General. Do you have any information of this man's whereabouts?"

"No, your majesty. It's likely he's still in the city in fact. I'm displeased to admit it, but there are more places to hide in the city than the barren region outside of it."

"Well as long as he's outside the palace, I don't think it's much to worry about," Ki Nai opened her mouth again, "From what I know this 'Nightbender' has never hit the same place twice. This is the actually the first event by the Nightbender in the city. So far his goals have not been anything lethal." She looked to the King with a bow, "Your majesty I don't mean to speak of such blasphemy but seeing how he managed to get into the palace, we can all agree that he could have done much worse. And this is why I propose once more of my palace designs I made. Aside from reducing cost and the need for so many guards, the blueprints display a tighter security system. Tonight was proof that the current palace security arrangement is breakable. This also calls for drastic measures to forcefully loom over the leading Air Monks."

"What?!" The Doctor reacted aloud, "What do the Air Monks have to do with this?"

Ki Nai kept her focus to the Earth King, "Your majesty, with the information stating both the Nightbender and the Firestorm are in fact airbenders, it is only sensible that we put our suspicion to the monks."

The doctor retaliated, "You dare put such irreverence onto the Air Nomads, to accuse them of being involved in any crimes such as this."

"Doctor," Ki Nai visually addressed to him as she clamped her fan shut, "You said it yourself. Whether this is one person or two, Nightbender and Firestorm are very skilled air benders. Where else could an airbender obtain such high level of proficiency? They must have some strong relations with the air monks."

The Earth King leaned forward, "Ki Nai does have a point. The high monks as the first group of airbending masters for over a century. There is no other place for such a person to obtain such skill."

"With all do respect your majesty," Yeng Fo pleaded, "We really have to think carefully of this. To accuse the air monks of such crimes is profane towards the very legacy of Avatar Aang. There nation is still recovering and have just started living their sacred age-old cultures."

Kin Nai rolled her eyes, "Doctor, it's enough that we have to deal with the Fire Nation taking their civil war onto our turf. All we need is another nation to get out of hand. And as far as I know airbenders are people too, no more enlightened than any of us."

The Earth King finally decided to put his foot down, "Minister Ki Nai, I believe you've said enough," and with that said, Ki Nai hushed as she snapped her fan open fluttering it to her face. The King shifted his gaze onto Yeng Fo, "Doctor, I verify that I don't at all suspect the Monks themselves behind these crimes, but I do have a firm belief this criminal had to have some affiliation with them. What concerns me is that we're dealing with an expert criminal airbender. And by the bizarre assaults reported by the criminal, we don't know what a airbender is truly capable of by taking such an offense, an approach completely alien to the air monk's lifestyle. The Monks know more than we do about those capabilities can may even aid us in seizing this convict. General Juo, I want you to personally trace the High Monks and send them my pressing invitation. And For the time being, General, I want the most experienced men to take place of any novice guards in the palace, whether they are part of the legion or of the army. Send the neophytes on patrol to the outer wall while I consider and take a look at Minister Ki Nai's schematics..."

The voices of the king and the three secretariats began to muffle as Hanara sank into deep thought. iThe outer wall? You've got to be kidding. What the heck am I going to do at the outer wall. Most probably be on duty at the outer monorail stations. But damn it, I worked my butt off to be part of the royal guard and protect the palace. Sigh, I guess it might be more be as boring but then again,/i She wasn't looking forward to have to guard in the at a public place where the populace is still a bit new the whole female law enforcers, iit'll be something different./i Hanara tried to lean to the positive side.

She focused her attention back to the meeting. The Earth King sat back on his throne folding his hands, "Ah and one last thing, General Juo. What exactly was it that the Nightbender stole from the archives last night?"

The General answered, "The only thing that appeared missing were two scrolls - both about the details and where about of the ancient Library of Wan Shi Tong, which is most baffling. The library had disappeared centuries ago in the desert."

"May I suggest," Ki Nai was speaking under her fan, "That you double…no, triple check the archives. If you're going to over-credit this criminal with having multiple identities, you might as well stay consistent and assume keeping you baffled is exactly what he wants…no."

The King eyed Ki Nai, "That isn't a bad idea Minister." He looked back to Juo, "And Juo, you wouldn't happen to have any idea who this criminal could be working for or if this even an act of a larger organized crime?"

The General shook his head, "No sir. I'm afraid not. But assuming that the Nightbender is or at least has some connection with the Firestorm, the only possible group we could think of are the Rebel Firebenders, which leaves another paradox. If the rebel Firebenders are as ethnocentric as they claim to be, it's quite inexplicable for an airbender to lead an army."

Yeng Fo commented aloud, "When a group of close-minded extremists are as desperate as those rebels, hypocrisy isn't a big surprise. History repeats itself."

The King sighed, "Alright then…that'll be all for now." He gave a quick glance to the anchor.

The anchor stepped forward and called out, "This meeting is adjourned!" And with the stomp of his foot, the three podiums in front of the secretariats retreated back into the ground. Secretariats Alpha, Beta, and Gamma gave their bows to the King and Queen and departed the throne room as a trio. Once they had left the room, the guards nearest to the doors stomped down to give the signal for the lines to start marching out.


	5. The Fire Nation Noble

It was a beautiful spring day outside the palace walls. Hanara was making her last few rounds patrolling around the wall along with three other guards before she was to be conveyed to the outer wall. The group suddenly paused when they heard a sudden, "Excuse me."

Turning around the guards saw a man approaching them, with a rolled paper at hand. The young man was wearing unique armor. It was light, but what stood out the most was it's color - different shades of red. Hanara was perplexed, _What?! A Fire Nation soldier?! Here?! _It was no question. The Fire Emblem was engraved onto the chest plate. He even wore a dark red headband over his forehead, making his dark brown hair spike up. His eyes were golden; a common trait amongst firebenders.

The foreigner was making eye contact with Hanara, easily reading her somewhat flabbergasted expression, so he unrolled the paper revealing a signed certificate. He then spoke to the group, "Don't worry, I'm an permitted guest here at the palace." He looked back at Hanara, "You must be the person who had seen the Nightbender last night? Can I speak with you for a brief moment."

_Who does this guy think he is? _A Fire Nation soldier comes out of nowhere and suddenly knows about what happened last night. Hanara rested one arm on the hilt of her katana. "How do you know about last night? And what makes sure I saw him last night?"

He replied plainly, "Well, they told me that the one who revealed most about the thief last night was a woman."

"Oh so you assume that I'm the woman they're referring too?"

"Uh…well actually," The man added, "they also told me that you're the only female guard at the palace."

"…oh." Hanara pathetically stuttered. One of her fellow colleagues snickered aloud. She gazed back and snap, "Okay guys, I'll catch up with you in a moment."

One of the soldiers replied, "Okay, but make it quick. You know where we got to go soon."

She gave a wave as the three guards continued on there way. Bringing her attention back to the Fire Nation soldier she asked, "Listen, I have to leave for the outer wall soon, so make it quick. But first tell me how do you know about last night"

"Oh you're going to the outer wall!" He pointed at her in glee, "That's perfect. You see my partner had just given me an urgent message to go back to the outer wall just before I managed to find someone who could tell me about last night."

"You didn't answer my question." Hanara had her arms crossed, tapping her foot.

"Oh about how I found out? Well lets just say it was a big coincidence. I'm actually hear tracking this guy, the Nightbender who we also think is the Firestorm."

Hanara's eyes widened, _Wait a minute! _That's what General Juo mentioned at the meeting.

The Fire Nation soldier continued on, "I really have to get to the outer wall, my friend said it was very urgent. Why, I don't know But you needing to go to the outer wall too, you seriously don't know how much of a convenience this is." From a side pouch on his waist, the man pulled out a think cylinder with a sting at the top. As quickly as he pulled it out he snapped his fingers creating a small flame igniting from his thumb. He lit the short string and aimed the cylinder upward.

"Hey…what are you doing…whoa!" She flinched back as flare launched from the cylinder shooting up at the sky, creating a black trail of smoke along the way.

The man stuffed the cylinder in his pocket and looked at Hanara, "I have some questions I want to ask you. If you come with me I can ask you along the way."

_Come with you? _"Come with you?!" She repeated her thought. "Whoa whoa whoa! Time out! Who said anything about me coming with you to anywhere. And what the blazes did you launch that flare for? And who the hell are you?!"

The man scratched the back of his head, "Oh jeez, where're my manners. My bad. The names Mao Zai, but you can just call me Zai. I'm the son of Mao Zahn, one of the highest rank noble lords in the Fire Nation."

"Okay…so you're the son of a noble lord…in the Fire Nation." Hanara raised a brow as she was letting this sink in. "Ok, and you want to ask me questions about the Nightbender. Well to be honesty with I…I, holy Crap! What is that?!" She looked at the sky as a large shadow caught her by surprise.

The man looked up with a smile, "Great, Huo-Yun arrived quicker than usual." A serpentine body swirled through the air. Closing its massive wings into its body it spiraled downward into a descent near Hanara and Zei. Despite its size, the beast made a gentle landing.

Hanara tripped over her tongue, "That's…that's a dragon." Pointing at the massive 40 foot long reptilian. Its head was massive, with a pair of long whipping whiskers at the tip of its snout and a set of rather long horns on the back of its head, pointing backwards. The color it was mostly a sky blue with a yellow underbelly. It's four legs were quite stubby and spread apart amongst it's long slithering body. And over its front legs were the dragon's folded wings. At the bottom of its long neck was a long narrow saddle where Zai was climbing aboard. _Wait?! Climbing aboard?!_

Zai looked at Hanara and broke her train of thought, "Here, grab my hand." He reached his hand out for her.

"What?! Who the hell do you think you are?! I just met you two seconds ago and you expect me to just get on the back of some creature with some random Fire Nation soldier?!"

"Random soldier? Hey, I told you," He pointed his thumb to his chest, "I'm of high nobility here. And I said I'm on the hunt for this Nightbender. I want to ask you some detailed questions, but my partner is waiting for me. You need to go to the outer wall as I do. So you might as well come with me. Do you even help nab this guy?"

_Well…it would be beneficial for the King and his officials to know more about the criminal. And if there anyway I can help then, well…Oh my goodness! This is crazy! I'm crazy! Am I really going to ride on the back of a dragon? _Hanara looked up to Zai, "Fine, I'll go with you. But you're taking me to the outer wall and no where else, you got that?!"

Zai bowed down in reply as reached his hand out, this time pulling Hanara onto the dragon's neck, seated behind him.

"Hey! Where are you going?!" A voice called out. Hanara looked around her as she finally noticed the small crowd standing a distance from the dragon. It was one of the guards calling out to her. Hanara just gave a nervous wave and replied aloud, "I'll meet you at the outer wall!"

"Oh and one last thing," Zai turned his head to her, "What's your name?"

"It's Hanara. Just Hanara." She adjusted her sheathed sword at her waist.

"Well then Hanara, hold on tight." And with that said he booted his foot lightly onto the dragon's scales. The dragon gave a prolonged growl as he flashed open his wings, beating them strongly several times before darting off into the air. The bystanders' gaze followed the dragon as it flew into the horizon, the fearful screams of Hanara fading in the distance.


	6. Full of Surprises

The bustling monorail station was packed with citizens and visitors; a conspicuous aspect was the buffed up number of Dai Li agents. The long indoor station had an arched ceiling and its walls covered with pictures of the cityscape. A four car monorail just entered the station slowing coming to a halt with a low boom that pulsed over the blurring sound of the crowd. The car doors opened and passengers poured out. The last car was a freight train with wider doors and a small ramp that just reached the ledge of the platform. The wide doors slid open to reveal two wide pushcarts carrying barrels covered in various safety labels. Each cart was pushed by an individual man, young university students (you could tell by their cylinder hats with the university insignia on the front). There was also a third, less occupied student following behind, his mocha colored hair exposed around his hat. His hands folded underneath his long sleeves. He kept a stiff posture looking straight ahead while trailing the other two students with the pushcarts, making their way through the mass of people. Only his dark gray eyes scanned the perimeter in all directions, counting every agent and guard on sight. To their convenience, their load of barrels were inspected at the previous station, before having them loaded onboard, so the students were able to pass through their departure with little trouble.

Walking down to the nearest exit, there was a balcony leading outside. At the edge of the balcony were large stone platforms, each with a man standing patiently on it. The trio of students continued forward until they stood on top of one of the platforms. They stood high above the ground, catching a vast view of the barren yet serene landscape that stretched throughout the western side of the city. The platform operator gave the three students a nod as he began to widen his stand and spread out his arms. The platform began to shake as it started a steady descend to the bottom of the wall, the echoes of the crowd dissipating from their ears.

Reaching to the bottom of the wall, the platform made a smooth stop onto the ground. Pushing the carts off the platform the three students tipped the operator carried on their way. They walked through a wide street outlined with various merchant kiosks and food stalls. For a shabby looking marketplace, the businesses made extensive profit here, either from hungry and weary travelers coming to the city or guests and residents packing supplies to leave. It was forbidden to set up business booths in the station, taking up too mush space, so the outside of the wall was the next best spot. But the three students didn't need to gather any goods. Soon they'll have all their needs accounted for upon reaching the convoy to transport the barrels of various chemicals.

Arriving at the edge of the marketplace the students caught sight of three ostrich-horse drawn wagons parked along side a dirt path. Standing near the wagons were two Earth soldiers uniform, one was a tall man. Being barefoot, he was most likely an earthbender. The other soldier was shorter, and in fact a female; her feminine curves a dead giveaway. She was armed with a naginata; the pole was as long as her own height and a single edged blade protruding from the top. She kept her face hidden under her wide conical hat. Only for a brief moment did she look up flashing her eyes to the three students. She kept quiet and let her comrade do all that talking, "So you three have the paperwork for the cargo." The student leading unveiled a note from his inside his shirt and handed it to the soldier. Right then the gray eyed student stepped forward and handed the same guard another note. "I am to be supervising a special order from this batch through New Serpent's Pass.

The female soldier kept her head tiled forward as she responded, "You'll be coming with me then, sir." She finally looked up, her green eyes making contact with his own.

With specified barrels loaded in the wagon and gray eyed student sat beside the female soldier who was holding the reins of the two ostrich-horses pulling the wagon through the narrow canyon opening just outside the outer wall. There was a bit of traffic with several other wagons ahead and one right behind them. The two both looked forward and kept quiet. The soldier finally gave in with a grin as she sniggered faintly, "Well Eason, long time no see." She shifted her glance toward him.

"Chi, it's sure a pleasant surprise to see you." Eason replied as he took off the university robe, "Of all people, I wouldn't expect you would be playing Roe's little delivery girl."

"Well you know how this job works more than I do. Because the raids are concentrated down south of the continent, I'm stuck here for a while until Jagmohan's guys decide to start the attacks back up north. But enough about that," She removed her hat, her dark hair fastened in to pigtails. "You gotta tell me how you got through the palace and nabbed all the goods at one shot."

Eason raised an eyebrow, "Now how do you know about me getting into the palace? And how do you even know of my mission? You're still trying to stalk me aren't you. Happen to overhear a conversation about me or something?"

Chi's grin only widened, "Of course you think I'd miss you that much. But no. Roe gave me a heads up from a messenger hawk he sent early in the morning."

Eason turned around looking into the concealed wagon. Popping open one of the barrels, he reached in and grabbed out a familiar sac, "Good, then you know how important it is I get this to Jagmohan as soon as possible. This'll make me quite the bundle."

Chi rolled her eyes, "Jeez, and I wonder where you're going to spend all that money. You've got such one track mind. And you know now that I know about and that stuff is in my wagon, Jagmohan's going to hold me responsible for it along with you."

He chuckled sardonically, "Roe said something like that too. But don't I plan to get this stuff to him as soon as possible."

Chi smiled, then slickly leaned onto Eason's side. "Eason, you know I can tolerate your trouble. But you…I'm sure you can spare a night or two. It's been such a while since we've seen each other and spent some quality time."

"Oh," Eason peered his eyes at Chi's, "…so who has a one track mind?"

Eason gave a slight twitch when Chi clasped her hand onto Eason's thigh, "I swear Eason, you can be so flattering to the ladies."

Eason drew his face closer to hers, "…I know."

A loud whistling screeched through the air, breaking the moment. "The hell was that?!"

The two scanned across the scene. Looking up, Eason's caught sight of a vertical stream of smoke in the sky from a fired flare. He stood up from his seat and held on to the wagon's rim as he peered around the side.

"It was flare!" He called out. It had been fired from a wagon trailing from behind. But what seemed odd was that no one was on the wagon; it was vacant, left for two ostrich-horses to continue pulling it.

"Whoooah!" Eason heard Chi cried. He turned back to see Chi had disappeared.

"Eason!" Chi's voice shouted. Eason yanked back on the reins to halt the ostrich-horses and jumped off the wagon. Veering his head in all directions he stood his ground when saw a Chi fighting a cloaked man a distance behind. Chi stood back, knife at hand.

"Chi!" Called out to get her attention. When she turned to him, Eason threw her naginata that she left on he wagon. The rugged man, armed with a curved single edged sword, wore faded brown clothes, with his forearms and calves covering in white binding. The hood of his brown cloak draped over his forehead. No doubt he's a native from the Si Wong badlands.

"So you wanna play dirty" Eason rubbed his hands. He figured he'd make this challenging and fight at close range. He dashed straight toward the desert man to get his attention. The bandit slid his free hand into his cloak before flinging a trio of daggers headed towards Eason.

Eason arrested his pace. Timing it right, Eason barely evaded the projected knifes. But upon sidestepping from them, he aimed his hands at the knifes and caught them within an air current. Then twisting his body the daggers made a swift u-turn around him, redirected towards the desert man.

Swinging his sword, the desert man blocked the daggers at ease. But to Eason's surprise, the man disregarded him and instead charged toward Chi. Eason was agitated, "You did not just ignore me!" Though before he could race toward the man, Eason looked up in the sky as a large shadow suddenly swept over the canyon.

The shadow returned, this time soaring just over the ground within the gorge heading straight towards him. Eason stared at the large eyes of the flying serpent. Its massive jaws opened wide, exposing a red fiery glow gleaming in its throat.

As the serpent fired its scorching breath, Eason whirled his body, slightly hovering above the ground. Strong winds swirled around him in a tight ball. As the rumbling dragon fire consumed the spinning air globe, the flames swirled around the current. The flamethrower subsided, leaving the spherical winds as a spinning inferno. But in an instant the roaring flames around the airbender extinguished as the ball inflated and the winds dissipated revealing an unscathed Eason frozen from his rotary motion.

His eyes followed the dragon which swooped over his head and flew off into the distance. Again he felt completely enraged by suddenly being disregarded.

Eason then felt a distinct heat behind him, paired with an oncoming roar. Eason bent his knees and turned around. Upon doing so he flung his arms high unleashing an upward torrent of air deflecting the fire blast.

Eason stood his ground as he peered at a firebender in uniform. To the side of his vision he saw an Earth guard aiding the bandit against Chi. They must've been hitching a ride on the dragon.

_Huh. So the desert man had reinforcements_.

Zai held a firm stance; his legs spread out, arms in front of him, palms open. His gaze was locked on his target. This was it. The moment he had been waiting for - meeting the infamous Firestorm face to face. This was his chance to finally apprehend the Firestorm, the man responsible for further fueling the rebels to continue their onslaught to destroy the lives of the innocent, as well as their own brethren.

His hands ignited in flames just by the thought. But he quickly became aware of his burst of excitement, and calmed himself, the scanning the area. In the gorge, it was fairly narrow. His partner, Govind, as well as Hanara who were both fighting the Firestorm's comrade, would be in the hazard zone. Zai aimed his palms to the ground. He jumped high in the air, the flames from his hands providing thrust, and scaled the wall of the gorge. He reached the flat top were several rocky monuments towered around the scene. Zai turned around only to see the Firestorm had beat him to the wide ledge standing a yards away from him.

The Firestorm addressed Zai, "You're not going to runaway from me too, are you?"

Zai gritted his teeth, "Don't count on it!" He readied his stance, pacing his breaths. Firestorm just stood there in a relaxed posture, obviously waiting for him to strike first. Zai didn't hesitate with the offer; he stomped forward as he launched a punch, firing a massive fire blast straight toward the airbender. Firestorm effortlessly evaded the flame, slipping to the side. Zai stomped sideways as he shot another blast, followed by another.

Firestorm waved his right arm deflecting the first shot, then gave a quick sidestepped away from the last. He gave a bored stare at Zai, "Please don't tell me that's all you have."

Zai responded with another stomp forward punching another ball of fire at the airbender. Again the airbender eluded the blast with ease. Zai, who held his firing stance, only smirked as he drew his fist back. By doing so the evaded fire blast ricocheted backwards in midair, heading back towards the Firestorm. Surprised, the airbender only realized this at the last minute when he turned to slap the blast with a quick gust barely deflecting it. He turned to Zai, giving his arm a shake from the mild burn on his wrist. The Firestorm grinned at Zai, "So ya do have trick or up your sleeve."

Zai yelled back, "Oh I have more than that!" He crossed his arms in front of him, then flicked them to his sides, creating a swirling halo of fire around his body. Taking in a deep breath, the circling flames grew and expanded. Zai took in other deep breath as he then tensely flexed his arms, breaking the halo into a dozen fireballs swirling around Zai in all directions. The Firestorm stood his ground coolly, probably amused by the light show.

Zai pitched his hand forward, commanding one of the revolving fireballs to shoot forward. But instead of aiming straight to Firestorm, the projectile was descending to his feet. The Firestorm simply stepped back but then was blown back forcefully as the fireball had exploded upon impact. The Firestorm managed to flipped back on his feet, but before he realized what had happened, several flames were already raining down upon him, whistling through the air. The airbender, finally had no choice but to perform serious evasive maneuvers, back flipping and jumping away from the impacts. Each impact discharged a small yet powerful explosion.

As Zai fired off the last shots, keeping his adversary busy, he wasted no time and charged forward, his hands set aflame. He had to keep his offensive on a roll; he couldn't afford to lose it. The Firestorm had just dodged the last flying explosive when Zai started hurling a series of flaming projectiles to further overwhelm his opponent. Now all Zai could see in front of him was a large cloud of smoke, the Firestorm somewhere within. Zai wasn't going to take any chances; he halted his pace as he snapped his hands together, reeling them back to his side while inhaling deeply charging for his next attack. He shouted aloud has he hurled both arms forward unleashing a massive flamethrower that engulfed the entire smokescreen. Several seconds passed before Zai ceased his powerful attack. His torso slumped forward as he was catching his breath. The gray haze quickly dissipated and Zai kept his eyes peering through, in hopes of looking at his downed opponent. But his eyes widened in alarm as he saw…nothing. Eyes scanning, he turned his head left, then right, and then up…he was up! The Firestorm was high in the air, descending from his high evasive jump.

Zai stumbled back as the Firestorm was falling right towards him. Zai performed a back flip just barely dodging Firestorm's flying kick. But once the airbender landed and he gave an swift underhand lob sending a powerful gale unto Zai before he could even touch ground. The young noble was hurled through the air, slamming onto a rock wall before collapsing onto the ground. Ignoring the sudden aches coursing through his body, the firebender slowly got himself to his feet. He looking ahead, his eyes slowly focused on his target. The Firestorm, standing a distance away, didn't seem fazed one bit; only several burned holes on his pants. Making strong eye contact the firestorm simply uttered, "Alrighty. It's my turn."

This was not good for Zai. For a firebender he was in a pretty tough situation; he was going to take the defensive. _At least he's a good sport_, Zai amused himself of the thought. It seemed the airbender wasn't going to strike till he was ready. Inhaling deeply Zai stood up in his position. Looking at the Firestorm, there was something that seemed peculiar to Zai. The air bender…was taking a firebender's stance. The Firestorm made his move; while stomping forward, the airbender gave a strong forward punch.

At that moment, Zai's only reaction was to dodge, jump away from aim. A piercing boom cracked through the air as the wall that Zai was once standing in front of exploded. Zai tumbled to the ground from the blast force of the attack. Almost shaken he flipped to his feet and turned to the airbender. _Thunder?! Did he just make thunder!…without lightning?! _Zai wasn't at all sure what had just happened. The only thing he was sure of was that he could not afford to hit by such an attack. Checking his surroundings he was pressed near the side of another cliff wall.

Making another strong step, the Firestorm thrust another punch, but this time aiming above Zai. The only thing Zai can could see of the fired attack was an invisible blast that warped the air around it. The blast moved at such an incredible speed it made Zai wonder, for a second, if he was seeing things. But he knew it wasn't an illusion for he could hear its presence more than anything, an loud earsplitting shriek ending with a thunderous explosion upon impact. The blast crashed at the side of the wall overhead of Zai, breaking off massive boulders. Zai dived out to safety away from the plunging stones. The firebender tumbled onto his feet, quickly pummeling a swift blast of fire toward his foe. The airbender simply repeated his attack. The thundering shockwave pierced through and dispelled the fire attack, streaking right toward Zai. Again Zai barely dodged the deafening shockwave, flown back by the explosive force. Zai tried to get back up, but the ringing in his ears stung to the point that his eyes twitched, and his balance was distorted. He managed to get on his knees when he heard of whip of air closing in on him.

Zai bellowed in pain as his right forearm was slashed by an air slicing attack. Blood oozing from the long cut, Zai hugged his arm close to his stomach. _This wasn't happening - this wasn't suppose to happen! _He barely heard footsteps approaching him over the chime in his ears. Looking to the side he saw the Firestorm standing before him.

"Congratulations," The airbender called out, "You're the first guy to ever dodge to that good ol' trick of mine. And more than once at that. But gosh, exposed to that intensity of sound, your ears must be killing you. You know, I have you firebenders to thank for learning that move. Yup, all ya need is a different attitude…and you can do anything with your element. Heh, or at least my element."

Zai was only half paying attention. Frustration grew within him. His enemy was standing right next to him, just talking. He had to get up. He had to finish off the Firestorm now. He had to…

"Eason!" a voice echoed out from the distance. Zai didn't know who's voice it was or where it came from, but the Firestorm seemed to recognize it. "Eason! The supplies!"

"Ah crap!" The airbender exclaimed aloud, putting his hand on his forehead. Zai was baffled as the Firestorm turned around. Zai listened to his departing words, "I have high hopes for ya. I have a feeling we'll meet again." And with that said the airbender took off.


	7. Flee, Fly, and Faint

Eason dashed toward the ledge. He had almost forgot about his mission, about the prized parcel. Reaching the cliff's edge he leaped in the air, heading down into the gorge. Upon falling he scanned down to the left and caught eye of Chi, fighting the desert man and guard. By the slight sloppiness in her movements, he could tell she had only a little bit a fight left in her. Glancing to the right he saw their wagon, taking off. The ostrich-horses must've been startled.

A quick updraft broke Eason's fall, safely landing to his feet before he sprinted towards Chi. Weapons clashing amongst each other, Chi and the two attackers didn't notice Eason drawing near until the last minute. Chi jumped away from the two as Eason charged right at them. As Eason slid to a stop the wind picked up from his momentum raged onward. He even launched his hands forward for an extra boost. Sure enough the two targets were blown off their feet, flying over ten yards before tumbling back onto the ground.

Eason grabbed her wrist, "Come Chi, let's hurry."

She resisted from his pull, "No Eason, we both can't keep those scrolls secure with these guys on our tail. And if anything happens to the scrolls, you Jagmohan will be in more than bad mood."

"Wait, Jagmohan already knows I have them?" Eason tilted his head.

Chi broke her wrist free, "Let's just say I wasn't the only one to get a full report from Roe. And yes, Jagmohan knows 'we' have them."

Eason sighed, _Can always count on Roe to get the job done_.

But before he could say anything else, Chi yakked on, "Listen, these guys have a dragon! That thing's been floating over head since they arrived. But you can get away on your own."

Eason stopped her, "On my own? " He was curious she wasn't giving herself any credit.

Chi winded a sigh, "Look I didn't tell you this but your board is in the wagon."

"What?! Its fixed up? What?! You didn't tell me, woman! You had it all this time and ya didn't tell..." A hand pulled down Eason's neck, catching him by surprise, and before he knew it, his lips were pressed against Chi's. The at that brief moment when he realized happened, Chi placed her hand on his chest and shoved him back.

Gripping her naginata with both hands acquiring her battle pose. The enemies had recovered from their knocking blow and were ready to assault. Chi yelled at Eason, "Damn it, Eason! The wagon's getting away. Get the hell out of here!"

Eason had to blink twice at Chi before he registered what she said. Then without hesitation he spun the other direction of the gorge and raced away as quick as the wind.

Zai's pressed his hand onto his right arm just under his bloody elbow though it didn't help much considering the gash streaked down to his blood dripping palm. His balance returned and he was back on his feet. The ring in his ears, though substantially subsided, still lingered.

Pacing to the edge of the cliff, he looked down into the gorge where he saw a dust cloud zipping off toward New Serpent's Pass. Zai gritted his teeth, "You are 'not' getting away from me!" Lifting his left hand away from his arm, a flame grew from his finger tips. Raising his left arm in the air, he shot a thin yet bright blast of yellow blast directly at the zenith. Rising at about a hundred feet, the blast then dissipated in a flashing glow.

A loud roar echoed through the air as a large dragon slithered down from the sky responding to the signal. Zai's dragon, Huo-Yun, circled high over Zai before it closed its wings and dived straight down. At just the right moment it stretched its wings and spiraled around Zai before landing. Zai looked up, making eye contact with Huo-Yun. The dragon mumbled a growl in displeasure at sight of Zai's wound, but as if reading each other's mind, Huo-Yun knew his companion had no time to waste. The dragon lowered his long neck. Zai lifted himself on the back of Huo-Yun's head. He commanded, "Huo. We're stopping that airbender!" Flapping his wings, the dragon snarled before taking off.

Soaring over the rocky ravine Huo-Yun gradually gained on the Firestorm. By the time the dragon caught up, the airbender had just caught up with a runaway wagon. Flying high in the sky and keeping the shadow behind the Firestorm, Zai and Huo were completely unnoticed. They watched as the airbender had jumped inside the wagon from the back opening. Zai took the opportunity and ordered Huo to swoop just over the wagon. The dragon did so.

Plunging down in the gorge Huo-Yun swooped over the carriage on the right side. While passing by Zai breathed in deeply before aiming his fingers down firing a small blue projectile. The blue flame shot clean through the rein, separating the wagon from the panicking ostrich horses. From there the Huo ascended to perform a wide aerial somersault. At the peak of the loop the dragon dived back down toward the ravine from behind the wagon which had already came to a halt. Making an abrupt stop the dragon hovered over the carriage. Zai called out, "Now Huo-Yun!" _This is it! Firestorm, you done for._ The dragon reared its head as it inhaled deeply. He then unleashed his fiery breath, a torrent of fire pouring out of his mouth, roaring down onto the carriage.

Zai grinned in confidence, but his smirk only went so far a shred of doubt loitered in the back of his head. _Is this it? Is the Firestorm finally done for? _Huo-Yun was still exhaling out his fire when a small blur had sparked out of the fiery wagon darting down the gorge. _What, no! No! _"Huo get him!" Not a moment they wasted as they went after the lucky airbender.

_That was too close for comfort_. Eason heaved a sigh of relief. His hair fluttered through the wind. Short straps from his goggles flapped about over his ears. With the backpack strapped on his back and secure, he moved through the canyon at incredibly high speeds, but he wasn't running. Knees slightly bent, his feet were firmed fastened in tight step-in foot binds, flying just over the ground on his one-of-a-kind air board. The board itself was about seven and a half feet long and almost two feet wide. It was wide on the back with a small fin sticking down at the bottom end. The front slowly came to a point. In addition were two six foot long poles each aligned on the side of the board. As bulky as the thing seemed it was extremely light, allowing Eason to easily bend the air around it and providing lift off the ground. Across the length the bottom was slightly concave which aid in maintaining lift. Eason's body was positioned facing the right, with his left leg in front of his right. Between the foot straps was a red button and small lever.

Eason zoomed through the gorge's base, swerving through local traffic with the yelps of the startled travelers quickly dissolving as he passed them. He made a quick peek behind him, catching sight of what he expected; the dragon was gaining on him. Eason pondered. _He definitely has to be part of the Fire Nation's Union. Huh…would have thought they hated me more than to send just one or two guys after me,_ he amused himself in thought. He blinked when he saw an oncoming sign. Just as he quickly passed by it he managed to read, "New Serpent's Pass ahead." And it was dead ahead. He spotted the thinned mountain pass, growing from the horizon.

Serpent's Pass used to be extremely windy and dangerous, nothing but a narrow cliff. But 30 years ago, a large team of earthbenders had reconstructed the path. With the path much wider and safer, even caravans could travel through. After the improved development, it was simply renamed New Serpent's Pass.

"Whoa!" Eason shifted to the left, dodging a fiery red blast. As fast as he went on his board, the dragon caught up faster than he thought. He crouched his stance and threw his hands back as wind boosted his speed. _Just…a little further_. He reached the base of the New Serpent's Pass where the path started climbing a steady yet high slope. The rise of the path was perfect. Eason hopped his board up, slanting the nose upward just as he angled up the mountain. The path was completely clear, no one in the way. Fists clench, he could hear the beating wings of the dragon over the whipping wind and flailing goggle straps. Almost at the peak of the slope. He heard the howl of fire surging behind him. He wasn't going to make the top of the path without a scorched back.

A split-second thought came in. Eason twisted the board to steer his momentum off the ledge of the path. Taking to the air, he cleared out of the blast range. But not having enough lift to stay high in the air, he about to plunge down into the ripping tides crashing into the cliffs' base. Looking down at his board, he yelled excitedly, "Time to see if this damn thing's fixed!" He punched the red button between his feet while simultaneously pulling the small lever up.

At the next second, the bars located on the side of the board opened out from the end, sprouting membranous triangular wings. Eason slanted his body back, lifting the nose, and with an extra blast of wind, he sped off, gaining altitude. Higher and higher he climbed, soaring over the open sea of blue. Pretty soon, he was surfing over the white sea of clouds, the sun shining as bright as ever overhead. Passing through strong, cool winds, wafting passed his ears, racing through the vast skyscape. Unlike most who would experience an intense adrenaline rush, the setting gave Eason a total calm, almost forgetting he was being chased down by a ferocious fire breathing dragon. Glimpsing behind he saw the winged beast still hot on his trail. _That firebender's sure as hell persistent_. Eason didn't have time for this; he had to end this now. He just couldn't have the firebender following him.

Tilting to the side, Eason made a wide, banked u-turn through the thick clouds. Emerging from the fog the dragon was dead ahead. Retracting his elbow back. He focused at his target before punching out a massive shockwave, sonic booming through the air. Smoothly the dragon twirled out of strike range of the attack, leaving the blast tunneling through a nearby cloud. The dragon and Eason swiftly past each other. Gaining some distance Eason flipped upwards in a vertical u-turn coming back toward the dragon who had also turned around. Again Eason launched a powerful blast at the flying serpent, but the monster dodged the blow effortlessly. As quick as Eason's attack was, it seemed the dragon had significantly keener senses to detect Eason's oncoming attack. He had to think of something else.

As the two flyers approaching each other, the dragon had decided to take on the offensive. The beast, as well as its rider, fired massive orange flares. Zigzagging around the flaming shots Eason began to glide widely around the dragon. He started circling the serpent faster and faster, tightening his orbit. Before the dragon and firebender could realize what Eason was doing, they were already enclosed inside a swirling vortex. The center of the twister was relatively calm and the dragon was left no choice but to hover in place. But it wouldn't be safe for long. Eason was spiraling closer and closer to the center shrinking the twister's diameter. As the tornado became tighter and tighter, its wind speed increased exponentially. The strong gales hollowed louder and louder. The surrounding cloudscape whirled and churned around the twister.

Trapped by the tapering winds, the cyclone finally narrowed to the point where the walls had grasped the dragon by the tail. The serpent was hurled violently like a rag doll. The firebender tried to keep hold of the dragon's head. But the monstrous gusts prevailed, flinging him off the dragon. The serpent was chucked out in another direction. Both the firebender and disoriented dragon launched from tornado's clutches, both of them plunging through the thick cloud layer. Eason soared above the scene catching sight of his pursuers' defeat. _That should do it_. He thought to himself before taking off through the sky.

Dust flew about within the low breeze in the gorge. A female palace guard leaped in the air, her hands over her head, both grasping her katana. Descending from her jump, Hanara swung forward, landing her strike dead toward her foe, an earth soldier imposter. The imposter held out her naginata with both hands, blocking Hanara's attack. The two locked their positions. Hanara attempted to push on her opponent's hold. Hanara's hat was off, exposing her black hair which ran halfway down her neck.

Sweat dripped down her cheeks, her jaws clenched, her muscles tensed. She had to admit her opponent had a lot of stamina to withstand attacks not only from her but the hooded man, Hanif Basim. He was Zai's partner. Basim was armed with a curved broadsword. Though Basim didn't seem as determined as Hanara was. But she didn't care. If Zai was right, this woman can lead her a step closer to the Nightbender or at least find out who he works for.

Hanara strained away, pushing down on her sword. She didn't catch the woman's slick movement as she leaned back and kicked Hanara right in the gut. Hanara was shoved back and barely kept her balance. Recovering her stance Hanara stared straight into her opponent's eyes. Both of them uncovered fatigue as they both breathed heavily. But the woman shifted her gaze as she saw Basim take his turn. He charged forward giving out a single horizontal swing. But the woman easily backed away from strike range. Though Basim didn't persist his attack. _What is guy doing?! _Hanara was getting irritated by his lack of effort.

He seemed to be waiting for the woman to strike, and she took the opportunity, and by the looks of it, it seemed she wanted to end this. She reached her free hand to her side, and suddenly started patting the side of her waist. Looking down she barked, "What? My sleep darts!"

"Oh so that's what they are!" A voice called out. It was the first sentence Hanara heard out of Basim's mouth. He had sprinted toward her while she was still unready. And before the woman was able to take hold of her naginata and defend, she gasped dryly. It seemed Basim had punched her right in the gut. She suddenly dropped her weapon and collapsed onto Basim's shoulder. The man slowly kneeled down and put her on her knees as he slipped his sword in the case on his back. While doing so, he pulled his fist away from her stomach to reveal a needle like barb at his hand, which he discarded. The woman was victim to her own toys. Then with both hands, he hoisted her up over his shoulder.

"Geez, she was sure a feisty woman." Basim turned towards Hanara, "But I'll have to say the same thing about you."

"Well," Hanara sheathed her katana, "I'll just take that as a compliment."

Basim pulled back his hood, uncovering his whole face. His skin was very tan and his ruffled hair was just a little bit darker. He scratched the stubbles on his cheek, "Good, cause it was." He walked over to her, "So I'm assuming you're one of Zai's friends, being that he allowed you to ride his pet."

Hanara put her hand up, "Eh, we're just abrupt acquaintances. But you're Zai's partner, Basim is it?" She rest her on hand on her katana's hilt.

He smiled with cheerful eyes and in a friendly gesture, "Yup, that's me alright. And you would be."

She nodded, "Aou Hanara. No disrespect, but you don't seem to be the kind of 'partner' I would expect to be accompanied with a Fire Nation noble."

"Ah, it's a long story. But yeah we've been 'partners' for a while now." He stared off through the gorge, "Long enough to know how predictable he is. Damn…" His voice was calm, "I sure hope High and Mighty didn't get himself killed. I didn't know the Firestorm was actually going to be accompanying this missy here," he shrugged to the woman on his shoulder.

"Whoa whoa. You didn't know the Firestorm was going to be here? Wait, you mean the nightbender?"

Basim replied, "Nightbender and Firestorm are the same guy. And when we heard the rumor very early morning about the Nightbender breaking in the palace, Zai couldn't hold himself and had to check it out."

"So that's how he knew." Hanara then thought to herself, _I forget that word can spread fast in the city_.

Basim continued, "You see, we had came here to Ba Sing Se initially because we were spying on this lady here, Yagura Chi, under low profile. We discovered she had very close ties to the Nightbender or Firestorm, whatever, and had been following her ever since. We were waiting for the right moment. And this morning was the first time she was traveling without a group. I kept a close eye as she came here to pick up a comrade. Little did I know that comrade was the Firestorm, and by the time I figured that out, you guys had already showed up. Talk about things not going 'exactly' as planned."

Hanara forced a chuckle, "I can relate. So, what do you plan to do with her?"

"Well, she was my target from the start. I'm sure I can get her to spill out some useful info to get a step closer to the Firestorm's possible whereabouts from here. Though right now, I have to admit, I'm just a little concerned for my friend. Chasing out the Kingdom's most wanted and dangerous man and all." Though he spoke nonchalantly, he had a serious face. "And we should to the get a move on. The city guards are going to come to investigate the recent happening here at any moment."

Hanara's eye's widened with relief, "Oh yeah, that's right. You can stay here and wait for them."

Basim gave her a confused stare, "I beg your pardon."

"This is perfect. You just managed to apprehend someone that can lead us a step closer to capturing the Firestorm. This would be a big help for the Generals' investigation. Listen, when the guards arrive I'll explain to them everything that happened and Chi here interrogated by the Counsel of Five."

"Time out," Basim quickly stepped closer as if he had a hearing problem, "You work for the city's government?"

"Hanara hummed a 'mmhmm,' "I'm actually part of the royal league. I'm a palace guard."

"What really," Basim gave an intriguing expression almost childishly. He patted her shoulder, "Wow, you know, that's…that's really something. So you're a palace guard…wow. If that's the case then…" Suddenly Hanara flinched as she felt a sharp pain in her stomach. It was by far the worst bee sting she ever felt. Looking down to her stomach she saw a needle piercing her gut, held firm by Basim's hand.

_What?! What did he just do._ The jolt of pain was quickly replaced by a intense drowsiness. She tried to yelled out but it only came out as a slur, "What was that…for…you" Her eyelids became excruciatingly heavy. She was so tired, her muscles gave up on her. Darkness.


	8. For a Better Future

Torches hung across the stone brick walls and pillars within the wide, massive hall. Large statues of various animal spirits scattered about. The statues were each occupied by the presence of worshippers. Many of them were monks of all race, gender, and age, wearing robes of red and purple. Some of the individuals wore clothes accustomed to their nation. The air filled with the chants and humming of their comforting prayers.

The walls had many doors of many sizes. A tall yet narrow door opened and Eason entered the vast underground chamber. Pack at hand, he strolled through the outer edge of the room ignoring the crowd and the rest of the surroundings. He knew where he had to go. He knew what he had to do. But that couldn't prevent being stopped by the creepiest attendant. A woman's voice spoke behind him out of nowhere, "Good evening, sir." Sighing to himself, Eason turned around, "Hey you," he greeted, forcing a smile.

The middle-aged woman wore a simple Earth Kingdom gown. Her long, dark hair was straight. But what stood out most was her never-ending smile. The woman bowed and spoke almost with a monotone, "I am Joo Dee. I have noticed you have just arrived and seemed to be astray. It is only procedure for me to ask how may I be of service."

"No I'm not lost, Joo Dee. I'm just heading to good ol' Jagmohan. I have something he just might like." he gestured to his pack.

"Oh," she reacted with a wider smile, "I apologize for the inconvenience, but Jagmohan has stepped out and won't return for another week or so."

Eason furrowed his brows, "Jagmohan steps out?"

She nodded, "Apparently so, but in proposition I have been instructed to direct all contacts of Jagmohan to Nua Hasho. Shall I lead you to him?"

"Oh so Jagmohan's secretary is dealing with the boss work, huh?"

Joo Dee gave a giggle, "You are very comical sir. Nua Hasho is the Vice-Chancellor. Jaghoman's most trusted companion."

He shrugged, "As long as he has the title to pay me, then it's fine with me. Okay, I'm dump all this to him then. And please, call me Eason…for the hundredth time."

Her grin squinted her eyes, "Alright. Now please follow me Eason, sir."

Eason just rolled his eyes but kept quiet and followed her lead. Walking through the crowded room, they exited through what looked to be a random door. The two were now in a narrow, torch-lit hallway. The chants slowly down die from behind; they were now able to hear the echo of their own footsteps.

Finally they reached the end of a hall which widened into a small antechamber. At a corner was a small table and chair. Joo Dee halted at the center of the room before turning to Eason, "I'll will inform Nua Hasho of your presence. You could have a seat at that table while you wait." She pointed at the table with an open palm.

"Sure," Eason confirmed as she went into the door ahead. He gazed all around the antechamber; it was much more intricate than the other rooms and hallways. Rather than plain stone bricks, the walls and ceilings were covered in stone carvings of an array of animals and spirits. The torches fueled off from the mouths of dragon head statues erecting from the wall. There were also statue heads of the giant Unagi. Water poured out of their mouths into small fountains aside of the walls, taking Eason's immediate attention. Walking up to one of the fountains, he dunked his face into the water and took in a mouthful in the process. He lifted his head up. Water dripped down from his chin and the ends of his hair. Swallowing the water he wiped his hand down his face. It wasn't till that moment that he realized how tired he was. _It had sure been a long day_. He put his left wrist in the water, soothing the burn he had received during the fight with that firebender. _Wonder if the guy's still alive_, he pondered. He thought back when he last saw him and his dragon falling through the sky from the cyclone. If the dragon hadn't been fazed out for too long, it could have easily came to its senses with enough time to save the firebender.

Looking down at the water, he stared at his faint, wobbly reflection. He thought about the firebender's companions: the desert man and the female Earth Kingdom guard. _Wait, it was a woman_, he realized. Recalling his memories, he remembered a female guard that attempted to chase him down back at the palace. _Could she have been the same person? Nah ,she couldn't be. What hell would a palace guard be doing at the outer wall…riding a frickin' dragon with a firebender and... But she also had a katana. Damn it…_Eason cussed to himself. Thinking about it, that whole situation was entirely fishy. And thinking about it started giving him a headache. He tried to pass through his thoughts only to start wondering about Chi. How is was doing. What she did. He couldn't understand why she'd kiss him at such a moment. Thinking of her didn't help with the headache. Grumbling a sigh, he just mumbled, "Damn woman and her infatuations."

"Eason, sir?" Joo Dee's voice popped out. Eason flinched in reaction when the corner of his eyes spotted Joo Dee standing right next to him. This was another reason why the woman crept him out: she was one of the very few people that could successfully sneak up on him, she's just some average woman. But before he could reply to her, she continued, "Nua Hasho will see you now."

He exhaled, "Alright then."

But she paused him with a question, "I see that you're a bit thirsty. I'm going to run to get Nua Hasho some tea. Would you care for any refreshments Eason, sir?"

"Joo Dee, saying my name before 'sir' kind'a contradicts the point."

"Contradict?" She titled her head, "Oh I see. My apologies sir Eason."

Eason breathed out grunt, "Nevermind. Just give me whatever saki you have." And he ambled to the door.

Opening it, the door creaked, and a voice called out in encouragement, "Come in, come in." Entering the room, Eason saw two bright fireplaces on each side lighting up the quarters. There was a large desk at the center, where the man sat. Eason walked toward the desk and tossed the backpack onto the table. "Howdy Hashi." Eason greeted as he plopped himself on an empty seat across from the man. The Vice-Chancellor wore red and purple robes like the monks back at the large chamber. But he always wore a tall purple hat. Nua Hasho just stared at the pack with his hands folded and grinned, "So you managed to retrieve the documents at the palace library. My my, when will you cease to amaze me?"

Eason lifted his shoulders and sarcastically answered, "When the pay gets lousy."

Hasho just shook his head before reaching for the pack. He then grabbed out a scroll, opened it, and quickly scanned the writing. "This is it." He was still in awe, "This is really it. Well done my good man. And you've managed to pull this off with minimal conflict?"

"Well…I guess you can call it minimal. Had a run in with a few guards…the Dai Li agents. But I left them in the dirt."

"Hmm…" The man's tone became serious, "You know, we can't afford to nab even the slightest of attention."

Eason leaned back on his chair, "Ah, get serious. No one has a clue about you guys. They don't even have a clue who I am."

"I only ask that you don't ever become over-confident. At least to the point where you could intimidate the confidence of others."

"Intimidate? Lemme guess…" Eason put his index finger to his lips, "Roe whined with another complaint letter about me." He knew Roe informed Jagmohan and Hoshi ahead of time when Chi had told him.

"Listen," Hasho was calm, "I put my 100 trust when assigning you these objectives. But I also put my trust with Rohshamiki as well. He wouldn't have been lasting Ba Sing Se for so long if he wasn't as careful as he is."

"Yeah, I get it." Eason spoke with mock seriousness, "I'll be more careful to ensure I don't put your other guys in danger."

"Thank you," Hasho nodded with a smile, "Now how is miss Chi Yagura doing?"

_Oh crap! _Eason bit his tongue, _Spoke too soon_. "Oh Chi. Well…she was part of the 'run in' I mentioned about."

"But you didn't see her till early this morning?" Hoshi raised an eyebrow.

"Well you see, there was encounter with a group of people…and a dragon."

"A what?!"

Eason hated dragging on truths so he spilled it, "When I got together with Chi, we were supposedly followed by this Si Wong man. Now you have to believe me that I never saw the guy in the city, so he had to have been following Chi. He ambushed us from disguise, and the next thing you know it, a dragon comes swooping by with a firebender and a palace guard." Eason saw the awkwardness in Hasho's face but continued, "I had to fight off the firebender at first. But Chi and I agreed that the documents here…" Eason pointed at the bag, "were more important. So she told me my airboard was fixed at the last and I pretty much skedaddled my way out of there."

Hasho had his hand to his face in disbelief, "My my, that's troubling."

Eason added, "But to be honest and judging by my instinct, I really don't think they were working directly for any of the governments. First off we know the Si Wong tribes have no other relations with outsiders. (But you have a connection with a tribe, right?) But anyway, you have a dragon master from the Fire Nation and an Earth Kingdom guard. If you ask me, they must be for-hire. They were definitely aiming to capture or kill me and Chi than anything else. Since the both of us have dealings with the rebels. There was too few people for it to have been planned by the governments."

"Well it's certain nothing can go as smoothly as expected." Hoshi pouted.

"Oh come on Hashi, you'd consider the operation smooth compared to 'your' past attempts. Plus I'm not really worried about Chi. She can handle herself."

"When Jagmohan went in search these documents at the palace years ago, he was never caught or discovered," Hasho pointed out.

"For starters," Eason retorted, "I'm still getting used to the fact that Jagmohan is not here. And your telling me he infiltrated the palace without getting caught…but he didn't find anything."

"Oh no." Hasho corrected, "He found a clue that ensured him these documents existed. "

"And he found…?"

"He found Joo Dee."

Eason squished his eyebrows, "He found wha- who?"

"Ah, Joo Dee. There you are. Thank you so much," Hasho yelled over Eason at Joo Doo, who had just entered the room with a plate of cups and containers. Walking up to the desk Joo Dee put the plate down. She held up one container, filled it with a flat cup and handed it to Eason. "Here is your saki, sir Eason." Ignoring how she addressed him, he took the saki, "Thank you," then chugged it in one gulp.

"And here is your hot tea, sir," She handed Hoshi a filled cup. The man took a sip of his tea and mumbled with delight, "Great tea, thank you again, Joo Dee."

"It is my pleasure, sir," and she took a bow before leaving the room.

Eason went ahead to refill his cup, his mind going into 'reset.' He then asked the man, "So, what's with these Long Feng documents and methods that these scrolls have …" he took another swig of saki, "…why are they so important? You plan to brainwash your enemies or something?"

Hoshi softly retorted, "My friend, don't demean these methods as brainwashing. These are going to be a big help in spreading our enlightenment with the people. Those are our goals, to enlighten the public for a better future. These documents are going to help us…quicken the pace, so to speak. We are not planning to abuse this knowledge. Jagmohan is by far the most enlightened being alive. He will make sure he leads this world into peace and equality. Our followers and myself, will make sure we help spread determination for the goal: peace and equality for a better future."

Eason snorted a chuckle over his saki, "Says the man being served by a maid."

Hasho finished his sip of tea, "Joo Dee had chosen her occupation all on her own. You can even ask her yourself."

"Eh, whatever. And by helping the Fire Nation rebels, you bringing peace? Riiight."

Hasho sighed, "You have to understand, my friend, we're at a point of civilization where the only way to reach the getter good is the use of 'necessary evils.' Picture this: You have a desolate island oceans away from any other land. On the island you have its inhabitants. The inhabitants continue to populate and use the islands resources at an increasing rate. Now the inhabitants reach the point no return. At this point even if the inhabitants cease to repopulate. They are going to starve themselves. But by eliminating a portion of that population the inhabitants (the necessary evil) they will be ensured of a future and learn from their mistakes not to burden future generations with necessary evils."

"I see where you're going." Eason refilled his cup again, "So Jagmohan's taking the initiative to dirty his own hands for the sake of an innocent future. How thoughtful of him."

Hasho then said with concern, "You know, my friend, the reason that we hire you…the reason that we encourage close interaction is because we had hoped you would better understand our purpose."

Eason raised a brow, "What are you saying?"

"We are grateful for the aid you have provided us in our cause. But we had hoped you would start to have faith in our cause as well. We want you to be part of that future."

Eason gave another small laugh, "Sorry, but in all honesty. I really don't see you any different than the Fire Nation rebels, with the 'goals.' You all believe you can lead the world into a better place when in the end you just lead it into war. You guys just happened to be more shy about it for now - staying in hiding until the time's right."

Hasho only quieted while shaking his head, "I'm sorry you feel that way. But let me ask you. You don't seek to better this world…Sonam?"

Eason paused himself and stared right into Hasho's eyes. He said nonchalantly, "The world's not going to change…and I told you never to call me that."

Hasho just sat back and sighed, "You can't run away. You can't keep running from the past. It's just leaves an endless hole inside of you. You may try to fill it up but it is bottomless, unless you stop running away."

Eason stood up from his seat after putting the saki down, "Well, thanks for the juice, Hashi. So where's my pay?"

"We'll be sure to accommodate you with money before you leave. But, Eason you look a bit tired, you should try to get some sleep. Joo Dee should be waiting outside the door. She can take you to a private quarters with a bed."

Eason cracked his knuckles while thinking, "Yeah, a bed sounds pretty right about now." He then looked at Hasho, "Have my payment ready by the morning."

Hasho confirmed the request with a nod.

Eason walked to the door. He turned around to tell Hoshi, "Oh and one last thing. As an added bonus, I found the coordinates of where the super library is…or once was. I knew Jagmohan was interested in that too. Eason couldn't tell what the expression on Hoshi's face was from his distance. Hoshi responded across the room, "Well done." Eason smirked and left the room. He knew that should make up for any o Hasho's disappointment (his deductions in the pay).


End file.
